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SAS presents EVOS analytics platform to appropriations subcommittee; state contract covers reporting for districts
Summary
SAS representatives demonstrated the Education Visualization and Analytics Solution (EVOS/EVAS) to the House Appropriations Subcommittee, describing statewide deployment since 2018, a $2,000,000 annual contract line for reporting, training supports, and near‑universal district opt‑in for at least one report type.
Tom Green, senior education policy advisor for SAS Institute, and Erica Prentice, EVOS policy lead, presented the SAS Education Visualization and Analytics Solution (EVOS, also called EVAS in the briefing) to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and the Department of Education and described how the platform is used by Michigan districts and the state.
What EVOS does: Green described EVOS as a web‑based reporting system that uses statewide assessment data (M‑STEP, PSAT, ACT, SAT) to produce value‑added and growth reports at the student, classroom, school, district and state levels. The system offers secure educator access to detailed classroom and student reports and a public site for district and school value‑added visuals; Prentice demonstrated diagnostic reports, student projections and how the system supports MTSS and early literacy work.
Contract and uptake: Presenters said the state contract includes a $2,000,000 annual line item (referred to in testimony as 95b) that covers statewide reporting; districts can opt in to additional teacher‑ and classroom‑level reports or supply local assessments (iReady, NWEA MAP, STAR) via the Michigan Data Hub at no additional fee. The presenters said 96% of independent school districts have at least one local district opting into the additional teacher/classroom reports and cited about 277 districts with ~207 logging in for the last reporting round.
Training, data flow and privacy: SAS told the committee that training and year‑round technical support are part of the contract, with live trainings, webinars and an embedded help function in reports. District participation requires data submission to the Michigan Data Hub; the presenters said they receive M‑STEP, PSAT and SAT from the state and run analytics. SAS named partnerships with MASA and MAISA for educator resources and noted integration with the Michigan Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP).
Questions from committee members focused on teacher capacity to use data reports, technical burden for districts and evidence of usage. Prentice said SAS and the Michigan Data Hub provide scripts and technical support to accommodate varying district technical capacity; she noted Michigan has used EVOS since 2018 and offered to provide more granular usage data (login and opt‑in rates) that MDE — as the contract client — controls.
Ending: Presenters asked for continued legislative support to maintain the reporting contract, saying EVOS can inform instruction, guide professional development, evaluate local initiatives and provide public transparency about academic growth.
